How Guardiola solved Liverpool ‘nightmare’ and accidentally signed potential ‘best’ right-back in the world

Three of the six most expensive orthodox full-backs in football history were signed by Pep Guardiola. And Joao Cancelo, Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker would have blazed a trail Marc Cucurella followed if Brighton had played ball.

But then the role of a full-back is, much like pretty much anything under Guardiola’s role, far from orthodox. The Spaniard has reinvented that position’s wheel many times: from ultra-attacking quasi-wingers to inverted quarterbacks and even a Pulis-style adoption of four centre-halves across the backline.

This latest reimagining might be his most ambitious yet. In two central midfielders he has found the crux of his right and left side.

In the seven games Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly have started this season, Manchester City’s record is W7 D0 L0 F20 A3. It is an astonishing record which actually goes back to last campaign: City won five of six matches with Nunes and O’Reilly as their full-backs in 2024/25, the only exception being a goalless draw at Old Trafford in April.

Beyond that forgettable game, Nunes and O’Reilly have supplied the platform upon which this Manchester City rejuvenation has been built.

Their energy, aggression and strength in duels is not the sort of diet which has sustained most full-backs at the Etihad in recent years, but Guardiola has fed their skillsets into this team.

Nunes and O’Reilly are a sort of bridge between two of his key full-back iterations at Manchester City. They are tall and powerful, evoking the Treble-winning defence of 2022/23, but still technically sound like those who have inverted before them.

Both provided assists against Liverpool while handling their defensive business. No player for either side made more clearances as Nunes and O’Reilly led the way in terms of tackles up against Mo Salah.

“Salah has been a nightmare for many years with his speed,” said Guardiola after the game. “We said to Nico he had to be aggressive.”

It was an assignment O’Reilly carried out impeccably. The 20-year-old has a case to be Manchester City’s player of 2025 and upcoming England honours have been well-earned.

But the Nunes transformation is even more incredible. His response to Guardiola’s claim he is “not clever enough” to play in midfield has been remarkable, going full circle to the manager saying he could “become one of the best” right-backs in the world in October.

Nunes will have to get past Conor Bradley first, who “really, really impressed” Guardiola despite his tormenting at the feet of Jeremy Doku.

But this surprisingly effective repurposing of a spare midfield part has only just begun; there is every chance Manchester City signed a brilliant £53m full-back entirely by accident.

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